So when did council officers stop being public servants?

Yes, there was a time when officers of the council were paid a moderate salary to look after our interests; to provide us with basic amenities
that made our lives less arduous, and to give us towns and cities we could be proud of. Now these same bureaucrats are paid exorbitant salaries to
dream up half-witted schemes that will irritate us to death and cost us a lot of money. Money that comes from the bottomless purse called council
tax. The perpetrators are little Hitlers who want to control our lives.

Lower down the scale, lesser council employees may not be paid such exorbitant salaries but they mostly get quite reasonable
remuneration and they benefit from the inflation-proof pensions that we pay for; pensions that in many cases we cannot look forward to ourselves
as ours have been whittled away to the extent that they are now almost worthless.

More galling is the fact that some council employees are complete numbskulls. They operate policies dreamed up by dickheads and
they don't even have the brain power to question their feasibility. Indeed, many older and long-suffering residents will recall that the rocking
horses they had in childhood were far more intelligent than some current-day council employees!

At one time, elected councillors did the job because they wanted to help their communities. There was no real financial incentive
although some scandalously corrupt councillors did manage to do very well in a financial sense. Nowadays, councillors are paid salaries for their
part time work that many of us would gratefully accept as just reward for a full-time job. This is, of course, in addition to whatever salaries
they receive from their day jobs!

Our victims will often be local councils. The tricks they get up to would probably fill a book but we will concentrate on one or two specific
matters that are likely to affect many people who live in boroughs controlled by corrupt local authorities. We would, of course, have preferred to
promote boroughs that are not corrupt but we haven't managed to find one.

Although the London Borough of Bexley is mentioned elsewhere on this
website for reasons that concerned me personally
as a resident, I have a friend who runs a website that is totally dedicated
to the fraudulent, illegal and corrupt activities of Bexley's officers and
councillors. I would implore all my visitors to spend some time looking at
Bexley is
Bonkers. Wherever you live, substitute 'Bexley' with your own council's
name and replace Bexley councillors' names with those of your own elected
representatives. You can then be almost certain that Bexley's corrupt
practises are identical to those of your own council.

The fact is that local authorities in general are rotten to the core, run - as they are - by
corrupt officers who are ably supported by corrupt councillors. In Bexley's
case, they get away with their criminal activities because the local
Metropolitan Police are equally corrupt, merely obeying any orders issued by
the Council Leader to cover up any councillor's misdeeds.

One councillor - Peter Craske (who is also mentioned on our
pages) - has been featured regularly on 'Bexley is Bonkers' because he is a
proven liar. B-i-B has published a complete portfolio of his misdeeds but
Craske is a man who stoops to the lowest levels to gain his revenge.

B-i-B's owner, and three other residents, had questioned his decisions at
council meetings, and then found they were named on a website set up falsely
in the name of one of the four residents. This website was full of
disgusting homophobic obscenities, accusing the four of committing various
sexual acts in public places including the council chambers. All these
allegations were completely untrue.

On June 21st, 2012, Peter Craske was arrested on suspicion of misconduct
in public office after the police found that the internet comments traced
back to Craske's IP address (internet connection). Although Craske resigned
his cabinet position (for personal reasons) he was never charged with
the crime because, as the police put it, there was 'political interference'.
So a man who should be serving a prison sentence remains as the councillor
for the Blackfen & Lamorbey ward in the London Borough of Bexley.

Hopefully, the good people of Blackfen & Lamorbey will ensure that Craske
no longer represents them after the next council elections and we hope that
two former Borough Police Commanders, who are currently being investigated
by the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police for the part they
played in this miscarriage of justice, might also be committed to a long
custodial sentence, along with Craske. But we won't hold our breath knowing
how corrupt police officers rarely seem to be punished!

To see another sample of the unjust experiences faced by people all over the country, take a look also at The Rotten Borough Website. It makes fascinating reading!

Visitors' Comments

TK, Scunthorpe writes:

This is true but don't forget the MPs are even better paid and just as bad.

Derek Edmead, Dartford writes:

I agree.

Debra Alexander, York writes:

Hello. I'm a rare breed pig farmer who is trying to keep Britain farming with my smallholding. But I seem to be the target of what you might call townies - people who move to the countryside, buy a million pound house and move on to the parish council to look good. Most are probably in debt up to their eyeballs.
Suddenly we have a parish council who complain about putting animals in a field and planting trees!

ReRecently I had a reply from Harrogate
Borough Council regarding a complaint I sent in about an enforcement officer, MR JAMES CULLEN.
MR TIM RICHARDS (Head of planning services), who seems to run Harrogate council, and has family relatives on most parish councils in the little
villages locally, replied by letter to an email of mine saying officially that whether or not JAMES CULLEN (PLANNING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER) HAS
LIED, THE COUNCIL DOES NOT ALTER ITS POSITION??? Now that seems to indicate that this council condones liars. What do you think?

And I have the official letter from the council as evidence that when you complain to the local government ombudsman in York, you send the
letters by fax and they send you a letter saying they have received them. But you never hear from them again! Do they all go to the pub and stay
there?

I'm sorry but this country is knackered! There is no one who cares. So just do as you like in life because truly no one cares.

Editorial Comment:

With everything we witnessed during the 11 years of New Labour
rule, and the subsequent years with a coalition government, we would love to think that you could "do as you like" (within
reason) but, as we all know, you can't. The only people who seem to be able to "do as they like" are the government, the bureaucracy, the town
hall dictators and their armies of paid enforcers - in fact anyone who would prefer that this country becomes a quasi-communist state run by
Europe ... the very thing that our forefathers fought to avoid in two world wars.

The whole objective of the freedom wreckers is to stop us doing anything we might like, or everything they don't like, mostly by
criminalising everything. And yes, Debra, councils do condone liars - it's a prime requirement for continued employment. If they employed honest
and truthful people they wouldn't get away with half the things they did.

If we do not wake up to what's happening around us, it will be too late. Something has to be done now. We might hope that the next election
will bring change but our hopes are probably unrealistic. And anyway we cannot afford to wait another two years. We must protest and we must make
sure our protest is heard. But it will need more than minor demonstrations. It will require demonstrations by vast numbers of people who really
care about this country - people who are determined to stop the rot now.

Any volunteers to lead us out of the New Labour mire and back to sanity?

GT, Lincs writes:

I agree totally.

If people only understood this issue properly there would be outrage. My council is an 'Executive' NELC and they pay themselves outstandingly.
Most people think that the powerful people in their council are either MPs or civil servants; Think again! Both of the prior groups are well
regulated and easily monitored.

Your council (if it's anything like mine) is run by unaccountable and unregulated senior managers (Officers). Check your council's constitution,
see what power some councils have given themselves and realise that the main decision makers in your council are UNACCOUNTABLE.

Valerie Smith, Willenhall writes:

I worked for the local council in Walsall for three years and was one of the few in the Department who lived locally. I was frightened by how
much money was wasted on stupid items, and how many "contracts" were given to friends. Days out on expenses that were just glorified piss-ups,
awards given to staff at top hotels for doing a job they were paid to do, and overtime allowed when there was no work - we sat all day for months,
yet were paid time and half to come in on weekends. This was when Fujitsu were supposed to take over.

I found that items were priced up wrongly on the system so it looked like unit was in profit, yet had actually been losing money for months. I
witnessed stolen goods being sold, drugs, theft and even a child abuse book stored away by a temp. When I complained about this I was demoted.
Then I managed to gather some evidence. Funnily enough my evidence was lost after being handed over and I was sacked for Gross Misconduct.

Weeks later, a co-worker who also spoke out was also sacked on health grounds. Worse still, six months later, the manager I complained about
was released with £65,000 pay-off and the unit was downsized.

I have since been unable to clear my name, I have been abused by staff so much I can no longer go into Walsall alone. And I cannot get another
job, even though I was good at my job and am willing to work hard.

Editorial Comment:

None of this surprises us because we hear it all the time. Councils employ a large number of people who would be lucky to get a job anywhere
else and the only qualification we think most need is the ability to turn a blind eye to the corruption, break the laws of the land with impunity
and lie when required to do so. Read the section on parking administration in the London Borough of Bexley to
see how they blatantly practise fraud, dishonesty and corruption - all with guaranteed continuous employment and a fully-protected inflation-proof
pension scheme.

Despite the so-called legal protection granted to whistle blowers under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, the usual result is
that the honest person is sacked and victimised whilst useless executives walk away with handsome pay-offs, often strolling straight into another
job with another local authority.

Ian Clemen the former Conservative leader of
Bexley Council - who was recently sacked from his job as Deputy Mayor of London by Boris Johnson after financial irregularities. It now
transpires that the police are reviewing all Clement's expense claims to identify the scale of any potential fraud. They have already
uncovered an instance where, as Deputy Mayor of London, he entertained the former Chief Executive of Bexley Council, Nick Johnson, at a posh
London restaurant.

Johnson had retired from his £200,000-plus Bexley job on health grounds only days previously. He left Bexley with a full pension and a
six-figure pay-off. Naturally, councils never worry about spending other people's money on such retirement luxuries for their senior staff. The
only difference here was that Johnson's health couldn't have been that bad as he took another £125,000 a year job on a London housing trust four
months later! He is now working for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

In a world untainted with the corruption of local authorities, Bexley taxpayers would be demanding that Johnson's pay-off be paid back and
that his full pension be stopped. Johnson himself, and anyone still employed by Bexley Council who sanctioned this gross misuse of public funds,
would be dragged to the public square next to Bexley's civic headquarters and would be publicly humiliated by being placed in specially-erected
stocks. Then they would be thrown in jail.

This will never happen, of course. All that will happen is more cover-ups, more wastage of public funds on more
council trough gobblers, and continued corruption.

But none of this is any use to our correspondent. She made the mistakes of being good at her job and honest - the complete
opposite of a perfect council employee. So what Valerie needs now is an employer who seeks the qualities she has. In the meantime, although it's
not much consolation, she can at least hold her head high.

Fran, London writes:

BARNET COUNCIL and ENFIELD COUNCIL are two of the most RACIST and corrupt councils I have ever encountered. Their Social Services for Older
Adults are seriously corrupt. They PRETEND to be protecting older adults like my mother when really they are on the side of her violent abuser (my
brother).
Barnet and Enfield Council helped my brother unlawfully and illegally evict my mother (who is a pensioner) from her own home. They ignored the
fact that he has a police record of violence against my mother. Both councils have continued to collude with my brother to cover up the TRUTH.
They don't want anyone to know how corrupt these two Councils are.

I was also evicted, along with my mother, and I was homeless for the whole of 2008. Barnet Council don't want to house me even though I have
been on their housing register for 10 years plus ... all because they are colluding with my brother. There is one VERY big conspiracy by Barnet
and Enfield Council to TOTALLY deny my mother her Human Rights and assist my Brother to drug my mother and make her appear confused. The ONLY
reason these two Councils are colluding with my brother is to get my mother assessed as Mentally Incapacitated so my brother can take control of
her property and affairs. I think these two councils have some kind of financial interest in my mother's house and want to be in control of her
finances. Enfield and Barnet Councils are VERY corrupt!

Bill Kelly, London writes:

How can someone get £200,000 per year while, at the same time, old
age pensioners are going to get their bus passes took off them? That's
to say nothing of the price rises! Councillors and MPs should get a
working man's wage - the job they do is not too hard ... mainly a little
paperwork. And masons should be banned from holding office!

Jamal Khan, Edgware writes:

I agree that local councils are corrupt. But what are we doing about it?
As they are our employees maybe we should start to question and demand information from them
under the "freedom of Information" act.

I live in Harrow Council who I believe are corrupt to the core. Everyone knows this but we are unable to do anything. NO, that is not right
... we should go to the street and inform people. I have suffered at the hands of my local authority but I will enlighten people about Harrow Council -
even if this means distributing leaflets in the street.

We all complain but do nothing. If enough people know their rights the Local Council idiots (employees) will not be able to bully their
constituents.
If this message gets one person to do something positive about their council then I have done my work. We need to start questioning what they are doing for us and where our money
is being spent.

Editorial Comment:

We should be able to
rely on our councillors to put things right but unfortunately the vast majority are too weak or too dishonest to make any difference.
We can use the Freedom of Information Act to force local authorities to
reveal information but don't be surprised by the lengths they will go to
suppress details or refuse FOI requests.

Jean Roberts, Dumfries & Galloway writes:

I shouldn't have been surprised to see how many corrupt
councils there are in the UK. I have suffered for the last 10 years because
of the local council's failure to uphold rules and regulations and have
written proof they are the biggest BIGOTED LYING HYPOCRITES that ever lived
and breathed!

Even more annoying these supposedly public servants wages are paid by honest
hard working tax payers' money, it makes me so angry. I would like to know
how they can make the rules up as and when they like or I am right in
believing its what goes into their back pockets that is the deciding factor?
Would they be so cocky if every morning as soon as they opened their eyes
they felt threatened and intimidated in their own home.

I can like a lot of other long suffering decent law abiding citizens live in
hope that one day someone or somebody can take on these low life blood
sucking leeches and make them pay for being the gangsters that they are.

Ronnie Millar, Livingstone writes:

West Lothian Council have given an
adapted wheelchair bungalow to a single mother with kids! Their excuse was
there are no disabled families on the list. Lies, lies, lies! I know of six
disabled families who would love that home. I am on the war path and would go to
jail as long as I got my say.

Nalini Bharania of Wembley writes:

I totally agree with you; these people are NASTY!
I exposed my employers and, unfortunately, I reside in the same borough.

I do not know where to start. They are not humans. I refuse to call them humans; they do not have any qualities of humans.
I exposed their malpractices and their mismanagement in their children department and they persecuted me by conspiring with a 'child poisoner' -
a convicted criminal. Do i need to say anything more? I am hurt, in pain and
devastated!!!

Malcolm Wain of Buxton writes:

If you want to read about my experience of the Local
Government Ombudsman visit
this web page.

Mark of Minster writes:

As you note, "scumbags" of all sorts seem to be protected by human rights legislation.

Can you provide any advice to me, as a parish councillor, with regard to how our community might go about instituting a "name and shame" strategy to deal with an ever-growing menace of anti-social behaviour in our village
- everything from speeding, abusive behaviour and vandalism to criminal damage.

Our boys in blue are not always interested due to their own lack of resources and the burden of all the associated paperwork. This whole thing is really starting to blight the quality of life of many residents and there is a growing desire for "local action". However, this needs to be kept within the law and not risk the "human rights" excuse. We also recognise the need for objective evidence before anyone is named.

Appreciate your thoughts and congratulations on your site, which I've only just discovered.

All the best

Editorial Comment:

A while back, the London Borough of Bexley had serious
problems in with hooligans on the buses. CCTV pictures of the culprits,
taken by cameras on the buses, were printed in the NewsShopper (our local
freebie). I believe the campaign was quite successful as many of the wrongdoers were identified by readers and brought before the courts.
I can't say how the courts dealt with them but I guess it was probably
little more than the usual smacked wrists.

JR of Kirkcudbright writes:

My family and I have lived at our present address for nearly 27 years.
We bought the property because it was a peaceful rural cottage. 10 years ago the
neighboring farm was sold and has been changed to an industrial site, without any planning permission!

We now have a constant flow of traffic from 7am till 8.30pm some days consisting of every possible form of wagon
- HGV, curtainsiders and all other general traffic.

We have had months of continuous chainsaws, tractors, wagons from 8am in the morning till 5.30pm, 6 days a week, and not more than 20 feet away from the house.

If and when a complaint was made to the local council (planning) or environmental health officer, the noise volume increased along with verbal abuse from this person's
tenants as well as rubbish thrown on the drive, and bottles thrown at the house at 3.30 in the morning.

We went through all the usual complaint procedures, even with written evidence of the councils so called compliance orders.
It was a total waste of time. They just turned a blind eye to everything this creature is doing.
Yet if other people had changed a window or a door in their property the council came down on them like a ton of bricks and made them put back the original fixtures and fittings!

There is no denying that decent hard working tax payers are being bled dry by these bloodsucking corrupt vermin and something should be done to stop them. Now!!!!!

Editorial Comment:

Seems like it's happening everywhere. IW of Peterhead (see
letter below) had a similar experience in Barnet and
a lady in Derbyshire has experienced years of disruption which has forced her (and me) to defend ourselves in the High Court after we
tried to publish the truth and expose the culprits.

James and June Stokes of Birmingham write:

Birmingham Building consultancy assistant enforcement officer recommended his
brother-in-law to build 2 storey extension. Used his position within the department to get each stage passed. Foundations passed but only 33cms deep. Drains passed but not in place, just a hole in the ground. DPC passed but do not exist. Steels passed but are wrong size and cannot support upper floor. Roof resting on bedroom ceiling joist, held up with one nail.

Council computer records show build passed up to completion stage. We have expert report
- same expert used by Birmingham Trading Standards and Watchdog. Building consultancy have known about this for 2 years and still have taken no action against either the builder or the surveyor.

My husband works for Birmingham council and has been threatened with code of conduct
yet the house is unlivable and has to be knocked down.

Can provide all reports to prove facts. Do not know how many other times they
have worked this scam. Do not know how many people in Birmingham may have completion certificates on death trap homes. Need help publishing what has gone on.

Editorial Comment:

Makes you despair, doesn't it?

IW of Peterhead writes:

The following is an example of corruption by the London Borough of Barnet's Planning Department and planning enforcers.
I must stress, first, that the issue happened during the period December 2001 through to 2005. I must also stress that this article does not intend to be racist in any way and mentions of parties is purely to demonstrate the gravity of Barnet Council's corruption. I will also say, as has probably been said in other articles, that I would be the first to take Barnet Council to court, IF I had the money to do so... Just have to hope I win the Lottery!!

In early 2001 a piece of land behind houses in a road in Golders Green, was auctioned off by London Underground. The Tube runs over ground on a solid bridge at this point. There were a number of bids on the land, including a resident, whose house and garden border the land. This person was outbid and lost to another bidder of the Orthodox Jewish Community, who gained the land for a mere £10,000.

For six months or so the land remained derelict, with mature trees and bushes and substantial wildlife, including foxes. In April 2001 the house neighbouring the bridge was sold off, also to the same Orthodox Community. There is a fence between this house and the bridge wall, which can give access to the land if the fence is taken down. Within a few weeks of the house being bought, it was secretively and rapidly turned into a nursery school for Orthodox under 5's children.

Neighbours opposite and next to the house complained, including myself, as rubbish, toys and builder's debris, was thrown over our fences into our gardens. We contacted environmental health, who visited three times. The planning department ignored our requests to examine the legality of the school. Eventually, I overrode Barnet Council and contacted the Department of Education, who sent inspectors to the property. They instantly used their powers to permanently close the school down, stating that they had never seen such deplorable conditions and standards, including unprotected, bare electrical wires protruding from the walls!

Between the closure and October, the land and house remained empty and unchanged. Then in October, bulldozers, JCBs and tipper lorries appeared and the land was cleared of all trees and fauna, at the same time destroying the wildlife s' habitats. The land was then concreted over. The Planning department was immediately contacted and the reply was that no planning law had been broken.

The land remained concreted and empty until December 23rd (conveniently just before Christmas) when eleven articulated lorries carrying 45 foot long
Portacabins and a crane turned up to illegally crane the Portacabins over a resident's house and garden, without any permission. The
Portacabins on legs reached a height of 11 feet, which towered over mine and my neighbours back gardens. The
Portacabins were to become a school for over seven's Orthodox Jewish Boys.

I immediately published a letter to all households within a 200 meter radius of the school site, stating what objectors could legally do to prevent all this happening. Approximately thirty objections were sent to the council and a petition with plus fifty signatures of objectors were also sent to Barnet Council. The planning department of Barnet Council did absolutely nothing. Every time they were contacted by phone, the planners responsible for the case, were either out of the office, or too busy to take calls. Any letters sent to them were replied with a fob off standard letter of "we are dealing with the matter and we'll let you know" - They never did let us know.

When we visited the council's offices in Whetstone for pre-arranged appointments, we were told the planners were off sick and the appointment was, therefore, cancelled.
This went on for three years and nine months, when eventually a planning meeting at the town hall in Hendon, was to be held. A planning application had been submitted, but all objectors had been denied access to see the plans!!!

Five representatives for objectors including myself went to the meeting. On arrival it was clear that the committee was predominantly Jewish, even the receptionist was an Orthodox Jew. The only committee member who sided with us, was an Irish guy, who I have to say tried his hardest for us, but never had a hope in hell's chance of winning. The Committee passed the planning application immediately, allowing the
Portacabins to remain and the school to operate with no restrictions.

After the meeting we were approached by a non-orthodox Jewish person, who told us he was on the objectors' side and that he had proof that the Orthodox Community had monetarily bribed the council to pass the planning application. Sadly we could do little about it due to lack of money. My solicitor told me I'd need at least a million pounds to sue the council, especially as they would probably use Orthodox Jewish solicitors themselves. We were forced to give in.

My property had lost £30,000 in value, due to the presence of the eye-sore at the back of the garden. I now hated living in my house. Further there was a great deal of anti-Semitism between the Jewish community, also due to the school's eye-sore and pollution. I eventually had to sell my house to cut my losses at a knock down price. I moved as far away as possible from the area, to North East Scotland, where I now reside.

I hope this article highlights just how unjust local government and local communities can be. I will NEVER forgive Barnet council for their atrocious sins, unless they come forward and offer me at least £50,000 in compensation for the loss I had to make on my house, in order to escape the disgusting environment the area around my house was turned into. I have not mentioned here what daily life was like for the three and a half years plus, that neighbouring objectors had to endure, but please feel free to contact me by email if you'd like to know the details... I warn you it's quite shocking and on many occasions involved the police

Editorial Comment:

In some ways this is very similar to the situation in
Erewash where land between
domestic residences and an engineering concern was grabbed by the owner of the
business who destroyed all the vegetation and covered the land with hardcore, even though the land was a designated flood plain.

To this end, Richard Hayden, owner of the engineering business, was helped by council officers and police officers. Unlike your case, there was no known Jewish connection .... but a goodly number of
the participants in the dirty deeds came from an Irish background.

In your case, it shows that racism does exist and it's
very often the indigenous British that are the victims.

Alan Dransfield of Exeter writes:

Devon County Council (DCC) have refused my FOI request for 6 PFI schools in Exeter which I state are illegal and unfit for purpose. Both DCC and the City Council, and the HSE have imposed a lifetime ban on me for raising such concerns.

Alan M Dransfield of Exeter writes (on 13/11/11):

The ICO/Devon County Council lost their appeal to the First Tier Tribunal when they attempted to overturn an earlier FTT decision which
overruled their VEXATIOUS decision.

It would have been FAR cheaper and less hassle to provide me with the sought-after data.

Alan M Dransfield of Exeter writes (on 18/3/12):

The Devon County Council (DCC) have refused my FOI request on 6 PFI schools in
Devon on vexatious grounds and I am due before an Upper Tribunal Court shortly in a test case.

I maintain these schools are unfit for purpose and am attempting to obtain data under the FOI Act which is being blocked by the DCC AND ICO.

Editorial Comment:

I guess that confirms your suspicions were correct.

Jacqui Thompson writes:

We have been battling with Carmarthenshire County Council Planning and Legal department for 5 years. Trying to get rural planning for my brother and young family, constantly refused and twice at appeal whilst all around are succeeding, including Prince Charles at Llwynwormwood!

We were sued for libel by the Head of Planning in 2006, defended it for a year but had to settle in
October 2007 as at risk of losing our family home. We continue to argue the fact that the council illegally backed him.

Editorial Comment:

My understanding is that local authorities cannot bring libel actions.

Douglas Allan of Glasgow writes:

Maybe we should teach the council servants who's boss.

The Wirral council have just admitted that all council tax is unlawful. Other councils have very reluctantly followed suit.
Why is council tax unlawful?
A lot of very clever people have looked at the common law of the land and that is why no law exists that allows councils to take our money.
Councils will cry out that you owe us money because the local government act 1992, sections blah,blah,blah says so.
Well the 1992 act, along with all the other acts and statutes of parliament, are only given force of law by consent of the
governed.
That means for the acts and statutes to work
they need your consent.
No consent don't bother with them.

Council's are tax collectors, revenue gatherers
- that means that they are a company.
You, reading this are a person. One definition of a person is that you are a company, a corporation
- sounds strange but Black's law dictionary says so.
That means that a contract must exist between you and the council.
There is much more you can read and learn from a web site called lawful rebellion. Learn why your birth certificate is a contract, why do you have Mr or Mrs in front of your name.

Sarah Falconer of Stoke-on-Trent writes (on 24/2/12):

Myself and my Husband have for nearly 2 years have been complaining to
environmental health at our local council regarding pollution coming off a Lubricant manufacturer in our area.
We have had other agency's involved also. Much to no avail, the whole family because of how our home is orientated get these chemicals coming into the house.
It took them 18 months to admit steam actually comes off the plant.

Anyway things came to a bit of a head last Wed/Thurs and and at plant there had been an accident. We had suffered really bad symptoms. My husband had also finished his research into the plant , so again we contacted the director of public protection public services and other members of his staff
; 1 to ask about the accident and 2 to say we understand the process which is causing our ill health.

His response and that of his staff WAS NOT TO FORMALLY RESPOND BUT TO EMERGENCY REFER MY FAMILY TO SOCIAL SERVICES .

We do not mind social services coming around. But the last week has been AWFUL.
The investigation started as a concern for our children's health, BUT WHEN THE EMERGENCY DUTY TEAM CAME OUT THEY DID NOT KNOW WHY THEY WERE IN OUR HOME. THEY ARE THE TEAM THAT TAKE CHILDREN IF THEY FEEL THEY ARE AT RISK, THEY SAID THESE CHILDREN ARE WELL LOVED AND CARED FOR. WE THOUGHT THAT WAS THE END OF IT. BUT MONDAY CAME AND IT TURNED INTO AN INVESTIGATION
INTO IF WE WERE APPROPRIATE PARENTS!

Thursday (WEEK LATER) we were told it was a dubious referral and
they would not be taking any further action. We know social services are only doing their jobs it's NOT social services
I am annoyed with - it's the blatant abuse of power.

PUBLIC PROTECTION DIRECTORATE AT STOKE-ON-TRENT COUNCIL, WE ARE CALLING FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND ARE COMPILING A PETITION FOR THE INVESTIGATION INTO
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.

Editorial Comment:

Please let know how you get on.

Nigel Graver of Totnes writes (on 22nd April 2012):

Try looking at the web site http:www.enfield-fraud.com if you want to see how much fraud and corruption is being committed and all covered up.
Hundreds of tax payers was being stolen over a 10 year period and, when exposed, you become the victim and the whole camp closes ranks.

I personally emailed every person involved in the council from the top to the cleaners and got 2 replies and no action from anyone.
I even emailed the local MP and they did not even bother to reply. They are not interested as they are probably at it themselves.
A total disgrace!

The Head of Finance has just admitted stealing £500,000 of the tax payers'
money.
Most of them are at it otherwise it would be investigated by their own. But they dare not.
Maybe none left in the offices except the cleaners??

Anthony Roper of Swansea writes (on 17/6/2012):

Hi, brilliant site, I understand all about the corruption in Local Authorities ‘especially’ in my home City: City and County of Swansea.

Swansea City Council is deemed by many people to be the home of corruption since the 70s...when Ian Bone (author of Bash the Rich): through delivering some 5000, leaflets called the (Alarm) resulting in exposing the Local Authority, and many councillors including the mayor received jail sentences for corruption.

Swansea Council (officers) need exposing, all 72 City Councillors apart from one or two, are under the misconception ‘that’ they run the Council (how naive) I will shortly be exposing a number of Council officers who have become a law unto themselves.

Norman Ingle writes (on 6th April, 2014):

In 1970, I was the Appellant in a Planning Appeal and the Cambs County Council were the 'other side'. On the morning of the Appeal, without notice (improper), they produced a plan showing road accidents including a fatality in the vicinity in an effort to derail my appeal. I said that the accident was wrongly plotted but I was brushed aside. I lost the Appeal.

Ten years later the Council admitted that the plan was wrong in ten respects
- all to my detriment - but that it would not have altered the decision. All the mistakes were down to human error. (laugh)

Since then I have argued that that is the wrong question. The proper one is: WAS THE PLAN WRONG BY DESIGN and if YES then WHY?

Some months ago I offered to pay the first £5,000 of the council's costs in going to independent mediation. They did not reply.
No councillor of any party will help and I struggle to find an investigative journalist.

Any bright ideas out there?

Editorial Comment:

Unfortunately, most, if not all, councils are so corrupt they will lie through their teeth to get their own way. The rules are merely something to be cast out of the window when it suits. In a just world, these people would be loaded into a cart and be taken to Tyburn to be hanged. But this doesn't happen and they get away with it time and time again.

Antony Arthur of London writes:

You are right about councils forgetting they are public servants.
Just because I went to the ICO about lies told about a Wandsworth council employee,
I ended up with a harassment warning for telling the truth. The Wandsworth Council complaints procedure has no interest whatsoever about
customer service, they call you liars as they know you will not have the money to sue.
This is wrong.
This also happened to a friend. Do they go on courses to lie, cheat and ignore because they are so good at it.
Calling them 'public servants' is far too good for them. They waste public money like it is their own.
A local councillor ignored a request and lied about broken paving when my own father broke his collar bone due to
the broken paving. He went on to become the Mayor of wandsworth so maybe it is good to lie and cheat.
You become high and mighty. Public servants are overpaid, jumped-up
jobsworths who are only employed because no one in the private sector will employ them.

Roberta L of Walton on Thames writes:

I think I will be writing quite a bit about corrupt councils.
I was just appalled at some of the things I have read. They really are all rotten to the core.
On November 2013 there was a large front page article in the Wimbledon Guardian (London local paper)
about corruption in Merton Council.
There were six whistleblowers but the council did everything they could to make sure the police
were not involved and so it was hushed up.
The leader of this council said to the paper, "It would not be in the public interest to investigate it".
Many people are still enquiring but they are being ignored.

Editorial Comment:

How many times do we hear things from these jobsworths like 'not in the public interest to investigate', 'can't infringe human rights', 'data protection act stops us' and 'lessons have been learned'?
All meaningless lies!
It's not just Merton Council ... they all do it.

More from Roberta L:

People are really sick of the way we are being taken over by these ever-increasing, largely unelected, parasites who cost us a fortune and just keep hiring their friends
and making them managers with meaningless titles (as are their departments). I could tell N&S a few true facts, as my cousin worked in one.
If I may suggest something, I think your website could perhaps do with some other part where your members could scan the latest newspaper corruption scandal or stupid idea within their council.
We cut them out and put them in a folder. The beauty of this is that it would never be
libelous because it is already in journalist print and they are the ones that need to check that out.
Also, that we are all interested in what is happening in other boroughs and within their rotten councils, who are meant to be open and transparent. If it is something in the e.g. 'Orkney Gazette' then we would know and read it.
It makes it more exciting to read (and collect) Yes/No?

Editorial Comment:

I understand what you're saying, Roberta, but I just don't have the time to do the research. Websites like Rotten Boroughs concentrate entirely on council and borough matters whereas I try to deal with the corruptocracy in general. However, if enough people write to me about their own local authority
and provide me with links to their local newspapers, I could do a single
page on bad councils, and then keep adding to it. How does that sound?

Adrian Marinache of London writes:

Tuesday council worker they gonna come to my house to kick myself and my family out of the house without showing proof of who is the owner of the house and they come to harassing my family to many time and I like to know if we can get help soon as possible before Tuesday 20/05/2014
and if someone can help we realy appreciate any help. I like to mention we live in borough of
Southwark, London. My wife she been to many times harras by council worker before I moved with
her. So I like to thank for any help and for work youre done with this site.
Keep up the good work

Christina Strong of Warminster, Wilts writes:

I've owned agriculture land for twenty years I've done small pension pot to start up small holding in Oct last year I paid for electric to be put in barn a week later planning enforcement officer turn up and told me he had a complaint about state of land it was a mess as things had been put in pile that was going off land been on there twenty years.
I explained this then he said he wanted barn down the council know we were having electric but waited for it to go in and said he wanted barn taken
down as he couldn't find planning consent which we had in 1994.
He has done nothing but threaten us with court order if we don't let him in barn he says were breaking planning laws but won't tell us what law we have nothing in barn that is of interest to him or anyone else
I feel strongly about this as I feel my privacy is been invaded how do I stand on this never seen a councilor in twenty years
till we put electric in.

Susan Denham of Portishead writes:

Hi, we have become so dismayed at the corrupt practices of North Somerset Council and in particular those councillors linked to Portishead, we wondered if you would care to share our website www.quargo.co.uk

It is in its infancy but has become a necessity as the local media will not publish any articles about council wrongdoings and has banned everyone from their public forums who dares leave a comment about councillors even when provided with documented evidence. I would understand you not wanting to share the site address but we are just trying to make more people aware of how councillors in our area have thrown away the rulebook.

Editorial Comment:

Very happy to publicise your efforts as I remember Portishead when it was just a small village. I had two uncles (both now deceased) who were instructors at the Nautical School in Nore Road.
I have some very happy memories of Portishead as it was in the 60's but I believe the old 'bad boys' building is now a block of apartments
and the town is largely an overspill of Bristol.

Unfortunately, your experience with the council and your councillors is very typical of most local authorities. They are invariably a hive of corruption and the people who run them are interested only in the money they make and the power they get to lord it over the people they are supposed to represent.
The same stories I read about my local council - the London Borough of Bexley - can be found on
almost all websites trying to expose corrupt local practises. And your local
media, like ours, will rarely overstep the mark because they rely heavily on
advertising revenue from the council.

Come the revolution, hopefully things might change. Meantime, do all you can
to expose and publicise their misdeeds.

Colleen Thornley of Bolton writes:

For three years a local ward councillor has been trying everything in her power to ruin my children's nursery business. I have now taken her to the small claims tribunal for printing malicious falsehoods on her personal
Facebook page.

She is contesting the claim and the Labour Council's Solicitors
in London are representing her. If she wasn't acting in her position as Councillor when she made the remarks, is it lawful for her to be represented by the
Labour Council's solicitors? More annoyingly, will I as a tax payer be
paying for her defence?

Editorial Comment:

I have been reading about your case online and note you have received very good legal advice from a
lawyer at justanswer.co.uk.

As you have already discovered, many councillors are positively corrupt and
they will band together with council officers and fellow councillors to
protect their own interests and those of their friends. They know that
complaints to the ombudsman rarely produce good results for the person
making the complaint and they know that if the matter is taken to court they
have unlimited financial resources to defend the claim - usually more than
the complainant can muster.

However, if this councillor has made malicious claims about you on her
personal Facebook page you need to ensure that you have a dated copy of the
content which can be obtained by printing the relevant page or using a
screen grab. If you don't get this before the councillor deletes all her
comments you will have no evidence and your case will be lost before it
starts.

From what you have told me, it sounds as though a claim through the small
claims court can only be for loss of revenue while you were prevented from
running your business by the council. But - without seeing the Facebook
comments for myself - you may be able to sue the councillor for defamation
of character in the High Court as a litigant-in-person. This will require a
lot of research on your part but it would negate the cost of legal charges
if you were to employ a barrister. Unfortunately, you would find yourself
facing the whole thrust of the legal process in court as the defendant would
surely employ a barrister.

My experience in a similar situation
introduced me to some of the biggest lairs I have ever met - members of the
legal profession who will go to unbelievable lengths and use the dirtiest of
tricks to defeat you. They will show the judge fabricated evidence (councils
are very good at fabricating evidence) and they will do everything they can
to blacken your name. These are facts you have to consider when deciding if
you want to uphold your own principles and are prepared to fight on. You
also have to take into account the financial burden of losing the action
because costs may be awarded against you.

In answer to your question, it would seem very unreasonable if the costs of
her defence were borne by the council, and its ratepayers, for something she
did in a private capacity. However, it could be that she is paying the
council's solicitors from her own pocket. You could try a Freedom of
Information request to get the answer but, again, councils are very good at
refusing such requests using a myriad of excuses.

I see many instances of ratepayers trying to get justice for councils'
negligence and malicious actions and in most cases the outcome is similar to
banging one's head against a brick wall. Councils generally are corrupt to
the core and fair dealings are something that never enters the equation. The
rules and standards they are duly expected to abide by are invariably
ignored and they often have the backing of people in higher authority who
are equally corrupt.

Sue Denham of Portishead writes again:

Portishead is rife with corrupt councillors, loyal to the
Tory party and themselves ... not the residents. We tend to refer to these people as Councilliars as it
seems more apt.
Two of these Councilliars actually stood as Independents to win their seats on the back of local issues. They soon realised they were actually Tories as only Tories retain seats in these parts.

One, Cllr David Jolley, not only turned blue but within a few years had become the highest allowances claimant in North Somerset yet still claims to
represent the ward he rarely visits. At a recent PACT meeting he actually stated that he only went along to listen to the 'moans' of the locals.

The other became an obedient puppy dog to the Council Executive, helping spread misinformation and the usual lies to the wider public and always jumping when told to jump. After covering up the council lies she was last year rewarded by being given a fictitious post to increase her allowances, along with 5 other faithful Tories. These positions were called
assistants to the executives. It seemed the executives were suddenly under so much pressure of work, even though most services have now been sub-contracted, that they needed a little helper. Instantly another £4000 a year gets paid into their bank accounts performing a role that was never needed in the past and it is still unclear what they actually do for this money.

This particular Councilliar (Reyna Knight) was already renowned for lying and for helping cover up the lies of other councilliars at official meetings. When questioned about her actions her response was, 'That's politics!' If she ever wishes to question the residents about the website they have set up to expose their dirty deeds, our response will be, 'That's honesty!'

Anyone wishing to read about the duplicity and self interest that generally targets the younger generations in our town please feel free to visit
our website.

It is good to know that ordinary people in similar circumstances are fighting back.

"Many men stumble across the truth ... but most manage to pick themselves up and continue as if nothing had happened."